Large and in Charge is a 1989 comedy rap album by Arsenio Hall, released under the name of his "portly rapping alter ego"[1] Chunky A. It is his only release under this name.
| Large and in Charge | |
|---|---|
| Studio album by Chunky A | |
| Released | 1989 |
| Genre | Comedy rap |
| Label | MCA Records |
| Producer | Arsenio Hall Attala Zane Giles |
Arsenio Hall began hosting The Arsenio Hall Show in 1989, and that same year, recorded and released the Large and in Charge album as Chunky A. Chunky A was marketed humorously as Hall's overweight younger brother[2] who had been a roadie for Barry Manilow.[3] Hall wrote the album and was a co-producer.[4] The album was a minor hit, reaching #71 on the Billboard 200, and one single, "Owwww!", charted, reaching #77 on the Billboard Hot 100.[5] "Owwww!"'s music video featured Hall in a fatsuit wearing a necklace chain with a large golden "A" on it.[6] "Sorry" was also released as a single, but did not chart. The album included the tracks "Ho Is Lazy" (a parody of Fine Young Cannibals' "She Drives Me Crazy") and "Dope, the Big Lie" (an anti-drug song featuring Paula Abdul, Wil Wheaton, and Ice-T).[7]
Contemporaneous reviews of the album were mixed. The Orlando Sentinel remarked, "Although he's occasionally mildly funny, Chunk's rhymes are less def than deficient - and less dope than dopey."[7] The Los Angeles Times gave the album three stars out of five, describing the album as "a raunchy, frequently hilarious album that's part rap--reflecting influences by the Fat Boys and Heavy D--and part funk, done in the talk-singing style of George Clinton and Cameo's Larry Blackmon."[4]